Friday, August 8, 2008

Cool and refreshing

It's been Hot, Hot, Hot in these parts, so here's a wonderful summer dessert. This 4-fork recipe from Epicurious, is called Frozen Mango, Blackberry Cassis, and Vanilla Mosaic, or in my case, Frozen Mango, Blackberry Cassis, and Raspberry Sorbet Mosaic. (whew, that's a mouthful!) Using all sorbet kept it light and healthy, and just as pretty.

I served it to guests a few weeks, ago, and have some left in the freezer. (The mosaic got a little beat up in my very full freezer, but the photo gives an idea of how it looked in its former glory.) I made the mosaic in my wonderful slim loaf pans, and I love how it has nice straight sides (well, it did have).

The layering was simple to do: just drop in random spoonfuls of the softened sorbet and drizzle the sauce into the gaps. It actually wasn't that different from marbling, come to think of it.

The Verdict:This was elegant looking and really delicious tasting. At the same time, it's dead easy to make. I definitely would make it again, but I'd change the name to Sorbet Terrine!

2. Meanwhile, purée blackberries, sugar, and cassis in a blender until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Freeze to thicken slightly until ice cream is ready, 20 to 40 minutes, then stir until smooth.

3. Lightly oil loaf pan, then cut a piece of parchment to fit bottom and long sides of pan, leaving at least 3 inches of overhang on each side.

4. Fill pan decoratively with spoonfuls of sorbet and ice cream, pressing down and filling empty spaces with blackberry purée as you go. Smooth top, pressing down with back of spoon to eliminate air spaces, then fold parchment flaps over top and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.

5. To unmold, run a thin knife along short sides of pan to loosen mosaic, then open parchment and invert onto a flat serving dish, discarding parchment.

6. Cut mosaic into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Cooks' note: Mosaic can be made 5 days ahead and frozen, covered with plastic wrap.